It’s third time lucky for Wellington’s CubaDupa street festival – the events expected to draw a crowd of 100,000 over the weekend after two years of disruptions.
The event was moved indoors in 2019 after the March 15 terror attack, and cancelled completely last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Festival director Gerry Paul says with two years to plan, 2021’s programme is bigger and better than ever.
“We’ve got 50 stages and venues across the precinct, 1750 artists participating, 120 food vendors, there's 20 parades coming through the streets - it's just colossal.”
This year’s festival features a brand new Māori arts stage, Ngā Toi o Te Aro, featuring 32 acts and the majority of performances in te reo Māori.
Ngā Toi director Noel Woods says the new addition “sets a standard” for years to come.
“We're more than a karakia, we're more than just a whakatau. We've got some treasures amongst our culture and we're here showcasing it at CubaDupa," he said.
“Hopefully in the years to come, we’ll have bilingual MCs across the whole festival and more performances.”
For Rollicking Entertainment performer and director Lizzie Tollemache, this year’s festival meant “a huge sigh of relief” after a tough year.
“We were booked for CubaDupa a year and a half ago," she said.
"As Covid unravelled we watched about six months of gigs disappear in about a week.
“When you define yourself by your art and passion and your performing, when you don't have that anymore it's not just a case of figuring out what your income is, it's also a case of going, 'Who am I without this?'”
Paul says the events are not just a boost for artists - for some local businesses, it’s the busiest weekend of the year.
“Because they haven’t been able to do it the last two years, it’s just so important for them. We know some of them do 50-100 per cent more business over the weekend compared to usual.”
CubaDupa runs over the whole weekend throughout the Cuba Street Precinct in Wellington.
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